


i don't care if i'm lost (as long as it's with you)

by wonderwall_mp4



Series: legacies [4]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: 1x14 canon divergence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, F/F, Hosie, Multi, OT3, Polyamory, henelope - Freeform, only hope remembers penelope, penelope is thrown into malivore, phosie, posie - Freeform, when penelope was going to belgium she's kidnapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 10:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18248411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderwall_mp4/pseuds/wonderwall_mp4
Summary: when a look of disgust didn't immediately cross lizzie's face at the mention of penelope's name, hope knew they were in trouble.





	i don't care if i'm lost (as long as it's with you)

**Author's Note:**

> this got away from me a bit. hope yall like it.

Hope looked on, smiling sadly, as her girlfriends hugged each other tightly. “I love you, Jojo,” Penelope whispered tearfully.

“I love you, Penny.” Josie buried her head in Penelope’s shoulder for a split second before letting her go.

Penelope kissed her gently, then walked up to Hope and hugged her as well. “I love you, Hope. I love both of you so much.” Tears streamed down Penelope’s cheeks, some dripping onto Hope’s shirt.

“I love you too, Penelope,” said Hope softly. “I just… I can’t believe it’s the end.”

Josie wrapped her arms around both of them, and Hope let out a sob as she sank into her girlfriends’ embraces. She didn’t cry easily, but Penelope leaving had turned on the waterworks. “It’s not ending,” said Josie. “It’s just for now.”

Penelope nodded, sniffling. “Of course. I’ll miss you guys, though. I’ll call and text. You two better be crowded around the phone every single night waiting to pick up the phone.” Hope laughed and leaned back from the hug to kiss her. Josie closed her eyes and a tear fell down her face. “What is it, Jo?”

“Nothing.” Josie let out a sob-laugh. “I just realized how much quieter it’ll be without you here.”

“And less annoying,” Hope piped up, and Penelope slugged her in the arm gently. “Ow! Rude!” The three of them laughed a little before falling into a comfortable hugging silence.

After a bit, Penelope spoke up. “I hate to leave, but I’m gonna miss my flight.”

“That’s fine by me,” mumbled Josie, pressing her face into Penelope’s shoulder. Hope gently pried her away.

“Have fun in Belgium! Just not too much fun without us,” Hope joked.

Penelope finger-gunned. “No hot Belgian girls. Got it. Same goes for you two cute dummies. Don’t go replacing me with another girlfriend.” She grabbed her suitcase.

“We won’t, but you have to talk to us in French over the phone!” Josie rebutted.

“Oh, you’d love that, wouldn’t you, _ma chérie_?” smirked Penelope. Josie looked at her for a second before letting out another loud laugh-sob and burying her face in Hope’s neck. Penelope’s expression grew long as she looked at the two of them. Hope knew that no matter how breezy Penelope tried to be, it devastated her to leave. “Well. I guess this is goodbye. Talk to you soon, I promise, right as I land.” Penelope waved sadly. Josie didn’t look up, unable to watch Penelope turn and walk away, but Hope couldn’t tear her eyes away from Penelope’s retreating form. Hope stared at the place where the dark-haired girl had been for several minutes as Josie curled into her, soaking her shirt with tears.

It was the first night since her parents’ death that Hope cried herself to sleep. It helped to have Josie cuddled up against her, but it still felt empty without Penelope on her other side.

\---

Penelope hastily wiped her tears away as she walked through the halls of the Salvatore School. She’d miss this place, and the people inside, even if she was a bitch to most of them. She’d miss Josie and Hope even more, though. They had become like her anchors. They would still be waiting when she came back, of course, and there was FaceTime and texting and calling. It just wouldn’t be the same as studying with Josie and getting a kiss for every answer right, or watching a movie cuddled up with Hope snoring away in the crook of her neck, or playing Monopoly and having Hope flip the board whenever she landed on one of Josie’s hotels, showering them in paper money and making them laugh until they couldn’t breathe.

Everything was changing, and she didn’t like it. Another tear fell down her cheek, and she brushed it away. All that emotion could wait until she was alone. She slid into a black car waiting in front of the school. The chauffeur was not her normal one, Jacob; it was some other guy with his cap pulled low over his face. He picked up her suitcase and threw it into the back, none so gently. “Hey!” she cried. “Be careful with my stuff.” The driver gave no response as he climbed into his seat. Huh. Strange.

He peeled out of the roundabout in front of Salvatore so quickly that Penelope didn’t have time to buckle her seatbelt, throwing her against the seat and expelling the air from her lungs. She brushed herself off and caught her breath, glaring at the back of his head. “Slow it down up there! I can get you fired,” she said. The glass divider rolled up without a single word from him. Muttering indignantly to herself, she went to grab a water bottle from the side of the door and found her fingernails scratching against an empty door cup holder, no water or snacks in sight. Okay, now that was weird. She was getting a little anxious. Was it possible that she... “ _Patefacio_ ,” she mumbled, running her finger along the handle of the door, and an angry buzz went up her hand. As she suspected, she was blocked by a magical ward. All of this led to the conclusion that this car was not ordered by her mother.

Penelope pounded on the divider. “Driver dude! Where are we going? Who are you?” As expected, no answer. She slumped back in her seat and glanced out the window. Through the darkened glass, she could see the car pass the exit to the airport. _Well_ , she thought, _guess I’m not making my flight_.

Penelope immediately went into crisis mode. What would Hope say? She was always so good at things like this. She imagined Hope’s strong hands on her shoulders, her blue eyes staring into her own. Breathe deep, Pen. You’ll be okay. Take stock of the situation, imaginary Hope said to her. Use what you have! an imaginary Josie chimed in.

Penelope went through her imaginary book of spells that could possibly get her out of this. There was _Ignalusa_ , Josie’s personal favorite, but because of the shield spells on the car, she was likely to just roast herself alive. There was _Liquescimus_ , liquidation, which she wasn’t sure would work on leather and steel. _Vados_ , the explosion spell, could work, except it would probably backfire on her in such a small space, and she couldn’t throw up a shield spell when she was already inside of one. _Scutum Dissolvere_ , the shield-down spell, would be good, except for the fact all of her shield crystals were in her suitcase, which was unreachable in the back- plus, she had no idea how powerful the shield on the car was. She could use _Lacero_ , but that would only shatter the windows and divider and likely either impale her or the driver, leaving both of them in a bad situation. All her other spells were either useless in the situation she was in, or they required ingredients that she didn’t have on her person. All she had was- she checked her pockets- her phone, headphones, and wallet. Her phone wasn’t getting any service, probably a side effect of the ward.

Her hand went to her neck, where her necklaces resided. She had two; one was an opal point crystal shot through with streaks of red. Hope had given it to her as a present. “The red is my blood. With my blood in the crystal, it creates a powerful protection amulet,” she had explained. “Josie has one as well. They don’t have to be certain crystals, so I took liberties: mine is, aptly, bloodstone, your opal represents imagination, and Josie’s peridot is for self-love.” Penelope had immediately fastened the crystal around her neck and kissed Hope in gratitude, and hadn’t taken it off since. Penelope knew there was only so much a protection charm could do, though, even with the blood of a tribrid; it would block human projectiles but it was basically powerless against advanced spells. The other charm, a small silver key, was part of a stupid BFF necklace Josie had gotten from the Justice in Mystic Falls as a joke. Hope and Josie had two sides of a heart with a lock in the middle, and Penelope had the matching key. It was dumb and cheesy, but Penelope loved it. Penelope loved _them_.

With her spells rendered useless, all Penelope could do was lay back, hand wrapped around her necklaces, and try to get some sleep before her certain demise. If she slept, she would have that advantage over her captor, since he would be awake while she snoozed.

She must have actually been able to nap because when her eyes opened, the car had stopped and the sun was beginning to rise- when she left Salvatore, it had been early evening. The cab driver opened the door, but before Penelope could do anything, he had muttered an incantation that bound her arms and legs magically together.

“Don’t try to escape, Miss Park,” he said, sounding almost bored. “That would be unfortunate for you.” He snapped his fingers to the side and two goons picked her up like a sack of potatoes. Penelope yelled in shock and the driver incanted again, this time to put a silencing spell on her mouth. Her chest heaved in panic as she screamed without sound. She was inside a walled complex, military-looking; the sign by the gate read Triad Industries. Why did that name sound familiar? Oh, Hope had mentioned it in her diary because... Penelope stopped wriggling as a rush of fear chilled her.

This was the place where the portal to Malivore was.

The goons brought her through a maze of hallways into a large inner sanctum, and she saw it: a giant pit in the center of the room. Penelope started shaking in terror, feeling like she was about to vomit. She had been prepared for death, but the idea of spending eternity alone in darkness while everyone forgot who she was sounded worse than hell. Though, she supposed, it was hell, so she digressed.

They set her in a chair next to the bubbling, tar-like pool, and her bonds magically attached to the legs of the chair. An executive-looking guy with a pointy nose and big ears strode in front of her. He looked like a little fucking rat. _Why, hello, Rat Boy_ , she said in her head.

“Miss Park, welcome to Triad,” he said, stopping to look at her. “I trust your experience has been accommodating so far?”

Mustering all of her strength and hatred, she leaned forward and spat in his face.

He slowly wiped it away on his shirt sleeve and glared at her, lip curled in disgust. “No manners whatsoever. You’re lucky we need you.” He waved his hand and the spell was taken off of her mouth.

“Well, at least I don’t look like a stupid, pathetic rat, bitch boy!” she yelled immediately. “ _Ignalu-_ ” he waved his hand again and her fire spell died on her tongue. A shame, too; she wanted that stupid rat man to burn. Ugh, Josie would be so proud.

“I won’t take this off until you agree to be good. Now, I’m assuming you want to know why you’re here?” Penelope rolled her eyes. Spare me the monologue, you wannabe Disney villain. “Maybe you’ll behave if I tell you it has to do with Miss Hope Mikaelson?” If Penelope was a dog, her ears would have perked up at the sound of her name. “I’ll now allow you a few seconds for heroic threat-yelling.” He gestured at her vaguely.

She spat, “I won’t let you hurt her, you disgusting-” He waved his hand again and she was silenced.

“What part of this looks like let, dearie?” he laughed. “You’re not the hero, you’re simply the bait for one. Records indicate that you and Miss Mikaelson are… intimate. When she realizes that the memories of her little paramour are erased from everywhere but her own mind, she’ll come here- right into our trap. Then, of course, we have to dispose of her. The tribrid is much too dangerous of a weapon.”

Penelope’s body flooded with cold when she realized what he was saying. He was going to throw her into Malivore without a second thought, and when Hope, her stupid idiot dork girlfriend with a hero complex, realized she was in there, she would come to help her.... and they would kill her. They were going to kill Hope. And Josie wouldn’t even remember she existed. The thought was even more horrible than the idea of eternity trapped in that hell pit.

She thrashed violently and, without any warning, Rat Boy clocked her with a right hook. Blood sprayed from her lips and dappled the complex floor, and Penelope stared at it, all semblance of hope draining from her as the blood dripped from her mouth.

“So,” Rat Boy said, gesturing to Malivore. “Shall we?”

\---

As Hope woke up, her entire face felt stiff and her pillow was soaked. She blinked and rolled to the side, searching for Josie, but she wasn’t there. Glancing at her clock, she realized it was already 11:50. She had missed breakfast and classes had already started. She decided she would skip classes today- Dr. Saltzman would understand- but she needed to at least get dressed to check on Josie. She hadn’t seemed okay the night before, and she doubted she would be okay now.

Hope pulled on a pair of jeans, a Salvatore button-down, and some sneakers. She checked her phone- no texts from Josie. That was a little strange. Josie always texted if she left before Hope woke up. She tied her hair up and walked down to Potions 3, Josie’s second class. She would be getting out at 12:05 for lunch.

Sure enough, when the bell rang, there was Josie, walking out of the class, grinning and chatting with Lizzie. Hope waved hello to Lizzie, who had just recently become her friend again, and asked if she could borrow Josie for a second, but when she pulled her aside, Josie looked at her in confusion, seeming right as rain.

“Are you… okay?” asked Hope.

Josie raised an eyebrow. “Um, yeah, babe, why wouldn’t I be?”

Okay, now it was getting even weirder. “Because Penelope left last night,” she pressed.

“Who’s Penelope?” asked Josie blankly. A sound like water rushing filled Hope’s ears as she stumbled. Josie grabbed onto her arm and steadied her. “Hope, what’s wrong?”

“Penelope,” Hope whispered, looking up at her. “You don’t remember her leaving?”

“I don’t know anyone named Penelope, no.” Josie thought for a second. “I think that was my second-grade teacher’s name, but I’m pretty sure you’re not talking about her.” She grinned at Hope, but her cheerful expression morphed into one of concern. “Babe, you’ve gone completely white. What’s going on?”

This was all wrong. She quickly grabbed Lizzie, who was not-so-subtly trying to eavesdrop, and yanked her into the circle. “Lizzie, you remember Penelope, right? Penelope Park?”

Lizzie stared at her like she had put on a clown wig and started Fortnite dancing. “Hope, there’s no one here named Penelope. You know that.”

Hope rubbed her face. “Josie, our girlfriend… of course you remember-” Suddenly, it hit her: nobody remembered Penelope except for her, and that could only mean one thing-

Her hand flew to her neck. There was the protection talisman, but something was missing- their BFF necklace, the one Josie bought for all three of them. “Wait, did you say our girlfriend?” questioned Josie. Hope grabbed her by the collar and started pulling her towards the commons area. Lizzie watched them in confusion but didn’t follow. “Whoa, I can walk! Why are you suddenly on a crusade?”

Hope sat Josie down on a futon and grabbed her shoulders. “What I’m about to say will blow your mind.”

Josie smiled nervously. “Is the correct answer you blow my mind everyday, babe?”

“Yes, but not right now.” Hope took a deep breath. “Remember what I told you about Malivore?”

“The hell pit that eats monsters and erases all memories of them, which also presumably ate Landon’s mom and you’re the only one that remembers her, am I close?”

“Yes. You should sit down for this. I know you’re already sitting down... but sit down even more.” Josie sank into the cushion obediently. “We have a third girlfriend. Her name is Penelope Park. She was supposed to fly into Belgium this morning, but only I can remember she even exists.”

Josie’s eyes widened. “What do you mean we have a third girlfriend? How would that even work?”

“We have two hands for a reason. But, really? That’s what caught your ear? Not the fact that I’m the only one that remembers her?” Hope said in surprise.

Josie shrugged. “I mean, we’re witches. It was bound to happen at some point.”

“What does that- never mind.” Hope pinched the bridge of her nose. “You believe me, right? I’m not going crazy?”

“Oh, I definitely think you’re crazy,” Josie laughed. “But that’s not new.” She stood, expression changing to one of deep thought as she nodded slowly. “When I woke up this morning, I felt like something important was missing. I thought it was just a test I forgot to study for, but… I believe you.”

“I love you, Josie Saltzman,” breathed Hope in relief, leaning in to press a kiss to her lips.

“I love you too, Hope.” Josie grinned at her, but fell into thought again. “So, this girl. Penelope.” Josie narrowed her eyebrows. “The name does sound familiar. We... loved her?”

“I mean, she was our girlfriend, so you tell me.” Hope put her face in her hands. “Yes, we loved her. Love her. Oh, God, I’m already talking about her in the past tense. We have to go save her.”

Josie stood up and put her hands on Hope’s shoulders, bracing her against the panic that was flooding her. “Hope. You’re okay. Tell me about her. Tell me about Penelope.”

“Okay. Um.” Hope thought. How could she describe Penelope? “Well, she’s kind of medium height, shorter than you but taller than me, with dark hair and soft eyes and the sweetest smile.” Hope swallowed the lump in her throat. “Um, it pisses you off how smart she is but how she never studies. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been dragged to one of your study sessions. She always steals my hairbrush when she stays over because no matter how many times I tell her to bring her own, she always forgets. And she’s so hilarious. I wish you remembered how hard she made you laugh. Those dumb faces she makes… God, you two are so cute together.”

Josie narrowed her eyebrows and pulled Hope into a hug. “I can’t even imagine how this must feel for you. I’d go insane if I didn’t know where you were,” said Josie. “Do we even know how to get someone out of Malivore?”

Hope shook her head. “But we have to try.”

Josie glanced at the clock. “Well.” She shrugged, resigned. “I guess we’re skipping lunch.”

\---

Hope was sure she didn’t dip below 50 miles per hour the entire drive, except for when she ran into Jamba Juice to get Josie a smoothie to apologize for dragging her along- even though she had gone willingly, the poor girl was still hungry.

They had commandeered one of the school vans, which Hope had cloaked to get it out of the school. Josie, who had her phone plugged into the aux cord and was blasting Twenty One Pilots, leaned back with her eyes closed in the passenger seat to avoid getting carsick. Hope could drive, but she made Josie enchant the wheel just in case. It was killing her to stay below the speed limit, but they couldn’t risk being pulled over. She could easily compel her way out, and she would if she have to. However, every minute they spent pulled over was another minute that Penelope was trapped in Malivore, and Hope knew from experience that it was a horrible place to be.

The drive took 6 agonizing hours at top speed. Josie was just nearing her third play of We Don’t Believe What’s On TV when Hope screeched into a parking garage about two miles away from Triad. Josie tossed her Jamba Juice cup into a nearby garbage can, slung her bag of spell materials over her shoulder, and turned to Hope for further instruction. “So, are you going to do your super speed and then I get to ride on your back?” she asked, clapping her hands together.

“This is serious, Josie,” Hope sighed.

Josie gave her puppy eyes. “We’ll get there faster.” She looped her arms around Hope’s neck and pouted her lips. “Please, Hopey?”

“Ugh, fine, you’re too cute. And don’t call me Hopey.” Hope turned around, and Josie eagerly leaped onto her back, wrapping her legs around Hope’s waist.

Josie kissed Hope’s temple. “You’re the best, Hopey.” She drew out the last word, clearly teasing.

“Dummy. Hold on tight.” Hope summoned her powers and started to run so fast that the scenery turned into a blurred streak. They arrived at the front gates of Triad within 15 seconds and, despite the fact that Josie only suggested it because she had been begging to ride on Hope’s back like Bella from Twilight ever since they were younger, it was a good idea.

Josie hopped off of Hope’s back and shook out her hair. “That was so awesome! Can we-”

“No, we’re never doing that again,” interrupted Hope. Josie sighed sadly.

“Hey!” Hope whirled around and saw two guards running towards her. “You there! You’re not allowed to be here!”

“Hope, quick!” Josie held out her hand and Hope grabbed it, channeling power into Josie until the skin that was touching glowed warm and red. “Shockwave?” Hope nodded.

“ _Imperium fluctus malleus_!” they yelled, sending out a wave that knocked the two goons down. Hope, not letting go of Josie’s hand, ran towards the gates. They were closed, and she could hear more guards in the distance, so Hope yelled “hold on!” to Josie, grabbed her, and launched herself with a burst of super-strength over the fence.

The two of them snuck in through the doors, trying their best to walk quietly after their less-than-subtle entrance. Whenever they came across a guard, Hope and Josie would trade off muttering “ _ad somnum_ ” and putting them to sleep before they could set off the alarms.

“The portal is this way,” Hope whispered to Josie, gesturing to a set of double doors. Josie pushed them open with Hope sneaking in behind her, but they both froze when they saw the giant pit. The thing was disgusting; not just its tar-like exterior and the stench of burning tires and dry rot, but the malevolent aura, like it was leering at the two girls. _You’re never getting Penelope back. She’s gone forever,_ it taunted in Hope’s mind. _You failed to save her, just like you couldn’t save your parents._

Hope shook the thoughts away and stepped around Josie into the room. Just then, from behind her, she heard a gun cock and whirled to see a man with a handgun pressed into Josie’s back. “You’ll do exactly as I say, Miss Mikaelson, or your little companion might have an unfortunate accident,” he sneered, pushing Josie just slightly so she rocked back and forth on her heels. But she didn’t look scared. Why wasn’t she scared?

As the man went on, monologuing in the background, everything seemed to slow down, and Josie’s eyes flickered to her neck for a millisecond. Of course. Hope had almost forgotten about the talisman she had made for her. Josie’s skin would be impenetrable to human weapons. Hope had to make the man shoot her on purpose.

She took a deep breath and lunged at him, holding out her hands as if to cast a spell, and the gunshot rattled her ears. Josie stumbled forward at the impact and the man fell backward, clutching his chest; the bullet had ricocheted off of Josie and back into him. Hope kicked the gun away and helped Josie to her feet, pulling her into a tight hug. Over Josie’s shoulder, she could see him wheeze one last time before falling still.

“That was a close one,” said Josie breathlessly. “Thank God for your cautious little self, huh?”

Hope laughed. “I bet you never thought me being overprotective would actually save our asses someday.”

“Do you think there are any more goons here?”

“I think that guy just stayed late for us. I’ll keep an eye out, though.” Hope pushed the man’s body out the door and closed it, muttering “ _Ut clausas_.” She left the other doors open so it wouldn’t look suspicious from the outside. Although, a dead body may have been just a little suspicious.

The two girls approached the Malivore pit and stopped near the edge. Hope kept a hand on Josie’s arm, ready to pull her back in case she stumbled. “What now?” Josie asked. “How do we get Penelope out of there? I really don’t like not having any memory of her.”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think I’d get this far,” Hope answered honestly. “I thought you’d say I was completely insane and force me to go to the infirmary.”

Josie turned and put her hands on Hope’s shoulders. “Even if I do think you’re crazy, I’d follow you to the ends of the earth. You know that, don’t you?” she asked softly, looking into her eyes.

“Don’t get all soft, Jo, I’m gonna cry.”

“Right.” Josie straightened up. “No cute stuff. We’re all business. We have a Penelope to rescue.” She pulled her bag over her head and opened it, producing several objects from its depths- a wine glass, some sticks, a piece of chalk, a bottle of water, a bowl, a pin, three candles, and… was that a bundle of hair? “The satchel’s enchanted,” she explained. “Like the Bag of Holding.”

“I’ve never been more glad that you’re such a nerd.” Hope watched in admiration as Josie sat cross-legged on the floor and drew a wide circle of chalk around herself. “What spell are you doing?”

“Guess.” Josie set the bowl down, snapping the sticks and placing them inside. She summoned a flame to the tip of her finger and lit them up. Something about the scene was familiar.

“Is this the summoning spell we used to find Landon?” asked Hope, concerned.

“You got it.” Josie used her finger-flame to light the three candles, placing them in a line behind the bowl. She looked up at Hope seriously. “And before you lecture me about using dark magic, you want this girl back, don’t you?”

“I wasn’t going to lecture you.” Hope shrugged. “I was just going to ask if you needed a power source.”

Josie stared up at her for a second. “You really love her.”

“I do. You love her too, Josie.” Hope sat down next to her, picked up the pin, and stuck it in the third candle.

“I guess I’ll take your word for it,” said Josie quietly, pouring water into the wineglass. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. “Shit, we need blood,” she cursed, glancing around. Hope stood up in frustration, and her eyes fell on something at the same time Josie’s did: an overturned chair and a spattering of half-dried blood droplets next to it. They looked somewhat fresh, not more than eight hours old.

They looked at each other. “Do you think...?” asked Josie.

“I think we have to try,” responded Hope. Josie took the bottle that used to have the water in it and scraped some of the blood into it. It was only a few flakes, but it would be enough for the spell. “Hopefully we don’t summon some random person,” Hope joked.

“No, the spell just wouldn’t work. I have Penelope’s hair-”

“Wait, how did you get her hair?” asked Hope in confusion.

Josie held up the bundle. “You mentioned earlier she always borrows your brush. I just separated the dark hair from your red hair. Easy.”

“God, you’re so smart.”

Josie rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yeah, duh, I know.” She shook the blood flakes into the water glass and it flared red, then unwound a few strands of hair and dropped them into the fire. She dipped her finger into the stained water and flicked one, two, three drops into the fire that she just put the hair into. Hope offered her hand, and when Josie grabbed it, she could feel a large amount of power being pulled from her. “Swift on the heel thou comest, thrice summoned by my spell, thrice troubled by my burning, come to me without delay,” she incanted, then repeated it twice. “Done. Now we just have to wait.”

“Until midnight, right?” Hope released her hand.

Josie tapped her bag. “I checked the grimoire. Old witches really liked midnight, didn’t they? No, it was just a suggestion. I meant we have to wait until the middle candle burns down to the pin. Should only be like five minutes.” Hope sat down across from her in the chalk circle. Minutes passed as the flame burned down, and Hope grew more and more anxious. Would this be enough to get Penelope back?

The flame touched the pin, and a slow rumble went through Hope’s chest. The doors waved and slammed shut, and an alarm started wailing. “Now!” Josie grabbed Hope’s hands across the bowl and gasped as her eyes suddenly turned black.

Hope gritted her teeth and pushed power out through her hands, the skin glowing so red it almost hurt her eyes to look at. “Josie, are you okay? Anything?”

“There’s… nothing. There’s just the dark. So dark.” Josie’s blank eyes widened as she choked back a sob. Her expression changed to one of absolute fear, and her voice turned into Penelope’s. “It’s so dark. I can’t see! Hope? Hope, are you there? Help! Help me!” The room started to vibrate.

“Josie!” Hope cried. “Penelope?”

“I think I have her!” Josie yelled. Her voice was back to normal. Hope watched in awe as the protection talisman around her neck glowed, and below it, something else was appearing- one-third of a crappy Claire’s BFF necklace.

Hope’s own neck felt warm and heavy as her necklace flickered into existence. “Josie, you’re doing it! You’re pulling her out!”

The room gave a violent lurch, and Malivore began to boil like it was fighting back. Hope gave Josie one more surge of power before running to the edge of the portal and falling to her knees. Behind her, Josie held her hands over the bowl, which had turned into a small bonfire. The power it was taking to pull Penelope out of Malivore was almost too much for even Hope and Josie combined to handle. She felt weak and tired, but it was worth it, every bit, as she saw a tanned hand claw desperately at the edge of the pool.

“I remember!” Josie scream-sobbed, closing her eyes and falling to the ground, clutching her head. “I remember everything! Penelope-” The room’s quaking ground to a shuddering halt, but the siren still wailed eerily in the distance.

Careful not to touch the sludge herself, Hope grabbed Penelope’s hand and pulled. Even drawing on all her super-strength, it was agonizingly slow, but eventually Malivore let go with an almost defeated pop and Penelope fell right into her arms with a loud shriek. She was unharmed, somehow not covered in Malivore goop- magic, she supposed.

“Penelope! Oh my God,” cried Hope, burying her face in Penelope’s hair and hugging her close, so close, as close as she possibly could. She was never letting this idiot go ever again.

“H-Hope?” muttered Penelope, sinking into her. Her skin was cold to the touch and she was shivering violently. Hope rubbed her hands up and down her arms quickly, trying to warm her up.

“If you’re going to get yourself kidnapped, Miss Thing, I am doubling, no, tripling, the strength on your protection talisman,” joked Hope.

“You came to get me?” Penelope asked, looking up at her with her eyes filled with tears. “Why did you come?”

“You didn’t call. We got worried.”

Penelope looked at her in disbelief. “Oh, I’m sorry, there was no service in hell!”

Hope laughed and kissed Penelope hard, running her thumbs along her cheeks. Penelope kissed Hope back eagerly, throwing her arms around her neck and letting out a soft sigh of happiness. “There’s the Penelope we know and love,” Hope said, pulling away so she could look into her eyes. Despite her happiness, here was something haunted, something lightless in them. Hope recognized it- it was what she saw when she looked in a mirror. Penelope was scared of the dark.

“Only back because of you.” She suddenly grabbed Hope’s arm. “Hope, I just remembered, before he threw me into the pit... we have to go, Rat Boy was using me as bait to kill you! We have to go before he gets here.”

“If by Rat Boy you mean that ugly guy with a gun, he shot Josie, but it ricocheted back into him because of the protection amulet. Josie took it like a champ. What a badass.”

“She really is. Is she okay?” asked Penelope. “She didn’t remember me, did she? Only you could remember, because of your awesome tribrid-iness.”

“She didn’t, but she still came with me to save you. Josie’s the one who had the idea of the summoning spell. Hey, Josie-” They both turned and saw Josie, unmoving, passed out in the circle. “Oh… oh no.”

“Josie!” cried Penelope. She tried to get up, but stumbled. Hope helped her over to the circle, where they crowded around Josie.

Hope pressed her ear against Josie’s chest. Her heart still beat, but her pulse was thready and faint and her breath rattled in her chest. “That spell takes a lot of power ordinarily. To pull you out of another dimension-”

“Took more power than she could handle.” Penelope sat back, expression unreadable. “So you’re saying that if she dies, it’s because of me.”

“Penelope, no! This is not your fault, not in any way.” Hope lifted Josie into her lap, stroking her hair. “And she’s not going to die. Not on my watch.” She took a deep breath and summoned as much of her power as she could muster and chanted, “ _alligabis os vulneris_.”

Josie inhaled deeply as the power flowed into her, and her eyes fluttered open. Penelope practically fell on top of her and pressed kisses all over her face, and Hope laughed in delight at the sight. “Whoa, Pen. Give the girl some space.”

“Yep, sorry.” Penelope kissed Josie one last time and scrambled back.

Josie sat up and rubbed her temples, looking at Penelope. “Penelope. It’s you! I- I can’t believe I forgot you.” She cupped Penelope’s face in her hands. “How could I ever forget you?” She looked to Hope. “What happened?”

“You passed out,” Hope explained. “It took too much power to pull her out of Malivore.”

“Then you must be exhausted, too.” She set a hand on Hope’s shoulder, and it started to glow. “Oh, you’re drained, babe.”

Hope shrugged. “It’s not too bad.” She suddenly heard the distant pounding of guards running down the corridor, and it was slowly getting closer. She struggled to her feet. “Can you two walk?”

Penelope nodded. “I think I’m fine.”

Josie winced. “I don’t know.”

Penelope and Hope helped her up and each wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “What’s going on?” asked Penelope in concern.

“Guards coming,” said Hope, flicking her hand so the door sprung open. After letting Josie siphon off of her and then healing her, even that small act of magic made her stumble. Her werewolf hearing picked up seven, maybe eight, goons charging straight towards them. She couldn’t carry both of them on her back, but she could buy them some time. She let go of Josie’s shoulder and faced the oncoming enemies. “Penelope, get Josie out of here,” she commanded.

“Hope, what-” Penelope turned back. “We’re not leaving you!”

“You have to go! I can hold them off long enough for you to get out.”

“Hope, you’re not strong enough right now,” Josie said tearfully. “They’ll kill you.”

“Maybe so.” Hope took a deep breath. “But as long as you survive, I’ll be okay.”

Penelope shook her head. “No. No way. I’ll hold them off. I have the strongest magic right now, and Hope, you can get Josie out quicker with your wolf speed.”

“Penelope, I came here to save you, and I swore I wouldn’t lose you again,” said Hope fiercely. “You’re going with Josie.”

“Stop arguing! I’m not letting either of you take me while the other dies for my sake!” exclaimed Josie angrily.

They looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. “Then we fight together,” said Penelope, and Hope and Josie nodded. Penelope held out her arms and wrapped the two girls in a hug, their foreheads all pressed against each other. “Two goodbyes in two days. Can you believe it?”

“This is not goodbye,” said Josie. “I’m never saying goodbye to either of you idiots ever again.” She kissed Penelope softly, then Hope.

“If we have to go, let’s go down swinging,” agreed Hope. “Penelope, can you spare some of your power for Josie?” Penelope took her hand, and the bond turned bright red as Josie siphoned some of her power.

“Need anything, Hope?” asked Penelope.

Hope shook her head. “I’m gaining strength. Give as much to Josie as possible.”

Penelope gave her an incredulous look, but obliged. Now back to nearly full power, Josie muttered “ _Incendia_ ” and encased her fists in fire. Hope used her wolf strength to break one of the railings off the wall and snap it in half to mimic the staffs she sparred with. It felt great to have weapons in her hands. Penelope cracked her back in a very badass way and just stood there. “What are you going to do?” asked Hope.

Penelope gave her one of her patented evil smirks. “You'll see. When I say jump, jump.”

The guards arrived in front of the three girls, and five of them drew batons that crackled with electricity. The others held out their hands as they prepared to cast spells. All of them were wearing tight black bodysuits, a clear advantage over Hope, Penelope, and Josie’s street clothes.

“Stand down, and we’ll spare you!” the lead goon shouted. “It’s eight to three. You’re outnumbered.”

“Huh,” mused Penelope. “You’re right.” A grin spread across her face. “That means it’s just about a fair fight for you.” She ran at them, and just before they could rush her, she clenched her fists and spread them wide. “ _Le sol est de lave_!” she cried.

“What the hell does that mean?!” yelled Hope.

“It means JUMP!” Penelope parted her hands in a sweeping gesture, and the world exploded. As Hope and Josie leaped into the air, the floor cracked, shuddered, and listed, and chunks began to fall into a giant sinkhole that Penelope was now maintaining the integrity of. With one hand out, she pulled her other up in a _rise_ gesture, and magma bubbled out of the cracks in the sides. Hope, Josie, and Penelope were left standing on pillars of rock in the middle of the mini lava lake, while the goons scrambled on to dry land. Four of them didn’t make it, but Penelope took pity on the other four and started raising rock islands for them to jump to.

Josie looked over at Hope, who was staring at Penelope in awe. “ _Le sol est de lave_ ,” Josie translated, grinning. “The floor is lava.”

“It’s official: our girlfriend is a badass,” Hope said.

“We know!” yelled Penelope from her own island. “Now let’s finish these cows. I’m in the mood for some roast beef.” She cracked her knuckles and began to leap from island to island as she raised them.

Josie swooned. “Oh my God, that is so hot. Uh, no pun intended.”

“Saltzman, behave,” Hope joked. She leaped to the island in front of her, and it wobbled. “On your left, Pen!” Penelope turned too late, and Hope tipped towards the lava, shrieking. She rammed her stakes into the wall, but they didn’t stick and her hands wrenched away. Suddenly, something cold hit her ass, and she felt bones crack as it launched her skyward. She crashed into Penelope with a loud “oof!” and the two girls landed in a heap on the other side of the pit.

They sat up and turned to see the scene: Josie with her hands out and eyes wide, a makeshift ice slide, already melting on contact with the lava, that she had presumably frozen in the spur of the moment, and four goons huddled on an island between Josie and her girlfriends.

“Thanks, Jo!” Hope blew her a kiss.

“Maybe your true calling wasn’t being a pyro, Josie,” called Penelope. “You going to be able to jump that far?”

Josie flipped her off and leaped into the air, yelling “ _repentino_!” to give herself an extra boost. The air bounced her right over the heads of the goons and she stuck the landing right next to them. “You were saying?” she asked innocently, flipping her hair out of her face.

Penelope gazed at her, heart eyes in full effect. “I am so in love with you.”

“Too bad I’m in love with this one,” Josie smirked and leaned over to kiss Hope.

“Okay, okay, Xenomorphs.” Penelope rolled her eyes, pouting. “I want a kiss, too!”

“From me or Josie?”

Penelope raised an eyebrow. “Yes.”

“Oh, you-!” Hope grabbed her and yanked her towards her teasingly, and Josie looked on, giggling, but then they all simultaneously realized that the four goons were still standing on their ledge, staring at them.

“We should probably-”

“Yup.” Penelope flicked her hand. The rock spire broke off and started floating, and the guards started yelling. “Hey, assholes!” Penelope called. “Tell your boss man that Penelope Park said ‘wassup’!” She made a throwing motion and the spire lurched, tossing them to the other side of the pit. Josie let out a whoop and high-fived her.

“Looks like we all got a chance to be heroes tonight,” Penelope grinned at the two of them. “Time to go back to the school?”

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter for me being a dummy ass, jokes about death, and writing content @eveningstqr


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